Creo Prepress and Color Servers used in Digital vs. Offset Project

Tuesday, March 01, 2005

Press release from the issuing company

Vancouver, BC, Canada (February 28, 2005) – Creo Inc. is pleased to announce the results of the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) work that helps show the close comparison of image quality between color xerography and offset lithographic printing. Creo products were selected for both phases of the comparison.
The Creo Prinergy workflow management system and the Trendsetter VLF Quantum computer-to-plate system were used to image the plates for the offset lithographic print results in the RIT Printing Applications Laboratory. For the digital printing phase, the Creo Spire CXP8000 color server using professional color management and Device Link emulation, was selected to drive the Xerox DocuColor 8000 digital color press.
“I always like a challenge,” said Dr. Peter Dundas, Xerox principal color scientist for Xerox Entry Color Production group. “When Creo produced an impressive comparison of digital and offset images for Graph Expo 2004 on separate sheets of paper, I thought that it would be nice to do the same on one piece of paper.”
RIT Test: Digital Print Quality Equal to Offset
The test prints were reproduced in the Technology Watch newsletter. “We are at a major crossroads today where digital printing processes can substitute for traditional printing processes closer to production speeds of 80 pages a minute,” says Henry Freedman, Technology Watch editor, and creator of the comparison demonstration. “It took over 450 years for offset lithography to substitute for relief letter press imaging. Now just 50 years or so later we have the start of color Xerography substituting for offset. The Spire color server from Creo was key in achieving these high-quality results,” added Mr. Freedman.
“The Spire color server is renowned for its excellent color management, its flexibility and workflow control for handling a versatile range of applications such as catalogs, flyers, complex long-run variable information (VI) jobs, and presentations,” said Ronen Cohen, corporate vice president, Print On-Demand Systems, Creo. “Spire color servers are simple to use yet they perform extremely fast. The results of this demonstration show the leadership in print quality that Creo products are known for in both prepress for offset and digital printing. The results show that when economical, quality is no longer an issue when printing digital.”
By increasing the resolution of xerographic electronically printed color images, xerography can now more closely match traditional printing processes. The quality comparison also supports opportunities in hybrid workflows that enable the routing of print jobs from offset to digital printing for early or late runs. A hybrid workflow that uses the same digital file for both forms of printing provides offset printers with the prospect of new revenue sources by providing additional printing services to clients.